*--------------------*

Angel looked out the window and was greeted by the sight of a few apartment buildings and pedestrians walking along in the early evening. As soon as his plane touched down Whistler met him at the gate and the two hopped into a cab headed for Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

There had been many sightings that placed the 'Angel of Death' and 'William the Bloody' in the area. It seemed that his sweet Buffy and his wild childe had made a name for themselves in the demon world. In just the few months since they left Sunnydale many in the Vampiric Hierarchy grew to fear the deadly duo. Let alone other various demon communities.

Spike himself was a master in his own right but Buffy...Buffy was an entirely different story. Never in history had a Slayer allied herself with a vampire. Of course Buffy had to go and be different and join forces with two of them. The golden haired Slayer was a human, the very first to have the Vampiric world at her finger tips.

Though all this information meant nothing to Angel. What concerned him were the rumors that *his* childe had challenged *his* claim on the Slayer. If the rumors were true...well he tried not to think about it. He knew that if Spike really did challenge his claim there would be a battle...and more than likely it would be to dust.

*--------------------*

Spike leaned back onto the bed pulling an exhausted Buffy down next to him. Both were tired from the night's earlier events. He still couldn't believe that Buffy let him feed from that man, let alone kill him. God it felt good to have the taste of fresh blood on his tongue once more. Not that his sweet Slayer didn't let him have a taste, but it just wasn't the same. When he felt the man's body become limp and cooler by the minute in his arms, the feeling was almost euphoric.

On the way back home they both discussed the changes that would come with Spike being able to hurt humans again. Buffy instantly reassured him that she was his mate and that she would never leave him but she also wasn't sure she would be able to deal with him killing him again.

Spike knew he'd do anything to keep his princess by his side. So right then and there he told her that yes he'd hunt but he wouldn't kill his prey. The only time he'd consider killing were in cases like the one tonight. Buffy's eyes brightened and she pressed a soft kiss to his lips before continuing on their way home.

So here he was with his mate by his side, in his bed and the fact that he was no longer helpless was a plus. What more could a vampire ask for. Suddenly Buffy snuggled deeper into the embrace and began to nuzzle her face into his chest. Smiling softly he kissed her crown never noticing the brown eyes that had soon become a saffron gold.

Just before the shadow with eyes of gold sauntered back out into the night, the faintest whisper could be heard.

"Daddy's home"

*--------------------*




Chapter 8 -- Face Off
 

*--------------------*

He snarled viciously at the thought of his mate in the arms of that...that...that thing! How dare he take what belonged to him, well he would learn soon enough! She let him do it too. A Slayer, The Slayer willingly lay in the arms of that monster. Though he lay none of the blame on his sweet girl. He knew that she was beyond thought with the loss of her sister and mother in such a short period of time.

'I wasn't there for her and he was. He was the only there for her to turn to. It's all my fault' were the thoughts that kept running through his head. From that point on Angel promised himself that once she was back in his arms he was never letting her go again.

There were still an hour or two to sunrise and New York always had a demon or two to knock around. With that Angel picked up his duster, left the room and stalked back out into the night.

All the while Whistle sat in the shadows and listened to his friend's rant. He couldn't help the lone tear that slipped down his face. How do you tell the only friend you've ever had that he can't have what he desired most. Angel lost his chance with Buffy long ago. The day he walked away from the golden haired beauty and slipped into the fog was the day he re-wrote destiny.

*--------------------*

Spike awoke to the feeling of a warm body draped over his and the scent of vanilla and strawberry filled his senses. He glanced over at the clock, the harsh glowing red numbers read 12:02. Though he already could tell that the sun was high in the sky, sunset was still a few hours off.

As he looked down at his mate he knew he had never seen a more beautiful sight. Even his once precious Drusilla couldn't hold a candle to his Buffy.

Drusilla. She was apart of his past, a past both he and Buffy would love to forget. Though both knew that they would never really forget the past. They would just move on from it. Buffy was asleep when he showed up otherwise she would've felt him too. His damn grandsire had finally found them and if he let him, he'd probably end up taking away Buffy just like he had done with Dru.

"Stop it!" came a muffled command

Only slightly startled he responded.  "Stop what?"

Buffy raised her eyes to meet his. "Stop whatever it is your thinking" After a brief pause  she continued. "I felt him last night also" she felt him tense at this but she still continued.

"I am not Drusilla"

Taking his face in her hands she tilted her face up to kiss him softly. Her hands then slipped into his hair as she deepened the kiss. She ran her tongue over his lips, begging for entrance which of course he granted. When oxygen became an issue she pulled back but made no move from the embrace. She whispered softly against his lips "I love you, I belong to you"

With that she tilted her head to the side exposing her mark. He knew that this was more for him than her but at the moment he didn't care. He pressed a chaste kissed to her lips and began to place soft open-mouthed kisses on her face. He soon began a trail down the column of her throat. Finally reaching his mark, he gently slid his fangs into her throat.

Soon the warm coppery liquid began to fill his mouth. For Buffy the gentle prick of his fangs and the dull pain all too soon became nothing but pure pleasure. Just before she fell into a state of euphoria her last coherent thoughts were.
'My mate, I am meant to be by his side and I really don't want it any other way'

Spike only took a few gentle pulls of his beloved's blood, not wanting to hurt her he carefully extracted his fangs and began to lick lovingly at the wound until it closed. Pulling his woman into his embrace they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

When they would once again wake; the sky would be dark, the moon would be full and the demons roam the night.

*--------------------*

Angel knew that Whistler was keeping something from him he just didn't know what. The dark-haired vampire was seated by the bar in the club known as ECKO. It was not the type of place you'd normally find him in but Buffy and Spike were regulars. So he knew that he'd probably catch them and possible end all this tonight. First he would beat the crap out of Spike then Buffy would throw herself into his arms, they then would re-declare their undying love for one another and all would be right with the world...or so he thought.

It was still early, about seven-thirty...the two blondes probably wouldn't be arriving for another half an hour. So he just sat off to the side observing all in the club.

He smelt them before he saw them, vanilla and honey filled his senses followed by cigarettes and old leather. Though he loathed to admit it, they looked beautiful together. They both were raw power hidden by their, beauty and grace. Buffy with her expressive moss-green eyes and soft curves, Spike with his piercing blue eyes and strong cheekbones.

Angel mentally scolded himself. He was here to beat the crap out of Spike and bring Buffy home. He spotted them at the opposite end of the club talking with a couple of Aurorian demons. Angel would've never believed it if he hadn't seen it himself. Buffy was not only speaking civilly with demons, she was laughing with them.

Finally Angel had seen enough, he got up and stalked over to the pair his chocolate brown eyes almost a midnight black. Spike anticipated the blow long before it came. So when Angel went to deliver a punch to Spike's jaw while pulling Buffy out of the way, the end result was Angel lying on the floor with Buffy and Spike standing over him with fire in their eyes.

"Buffy"

That one word brought so many emotions surfaced. Angel looked up into her eyes and didn't see what he expected to see there. There was no longing, passion or even love that used to be there when she looked at him. Now all he saw was confusion and defiance.

"Angel"

He didn't fail to notice she no longer said his name as if it were a prayer. The confusion in her eyes faded away and all that was left was defiance. "What are you doing here?"

Somewhat stunned by her not so warm greeting, he struggled to his feet. "Buffy I've come to take you home"

At this both her and Spike broke down into a fit of laughter. Angel looks on just as confused as ever.

"Buffy, what the hell is going on?" he began to shout, this was not how things were suppose to go.

Spike had finally had enough. He'd been quite the entire time. There was no way in hell he was going to let Angel take what was rightfully his. Spike went after Angel, the entire fight was nothing but fists and fangs. Eventually Spike got the upper hand and sent a kick into Angel's midsection which had him flying across the room.

Most of the club's inhabitants had left if they were smart or they stayed to watch the show, all hoping for some blood.

"Come on Peaches, just try and take her from me" he sneered at his grandsire, blood dripping from his split lip fangs gleaming in the low lights

Angel knew that his childe wasn't going to give up without a fight and as much as he didn't want to dust Spike, he would if it meant Buffy would be in his arms once more. Buffy just stood to the side, she knew that this was one battle where she could not interfere. If Spike was to keep her from Angel he had to earn the right himself.

A few more blows were exchanged just before Spike delivered a spin kick to Angel temple. The ensouled vampire hit the ground hard and fast. Spike stared at the still form of his grandsire for a moment before he walked over and grabbed his mate before exiting the club.

Just before exiting the club the two blondes turned back for one last look at the prone figure on the floor. Spike left his sire with these parting words.

"The Slayer is mine, come for her again...and I'll kill you"

*--------------------*




Chapter 9 -- Moving On

*--------------------*

As Angel laid stunned on the floor the only thoughts running through his mind was that he needed to call Sunnydale and get in touch with Whistler…and fast!


Just outside an irate vampire was practically dragging his mate from the area. Spike was completely blinded by rage; he couldn’t believe Angel had the balls to do what he did.

‘I mean for gods’ sake, who does he think he is? He can’t just come in there and try to take my mate from me. She’s MINE’ his demon roared with anger and rage at the thought.

All he knew was that now that the chip was out and Angel all of the do-gooders of Sunnyhell had finally tracked them down; there was only one thing left to do and that was to get the hell out of New York. Tonight

Buffy was struggling to keep up with her mate but she didn’t dare say a word about the pace they were keeping. Over the months she and her lover had been together she had learned a lot about slayer and vampire lore.

Some nights after hours of indulging in the pleasures of the one another’s body; they would lay awake while he would teach her the ways of a vampire clan. That’s how she learned about being marked and mated to someone. She couldn’t believe Angel had marked her and then just abandoned her.

Spike explained how even though he would treat her as his equal, the reality of it was that she was HIS and she was also the female, making him the more dominant of the two. Buffy wasn’t to sure how she felt about that at first but eventually she warmed to the idea.

While in Sunnydale and in all of her relationships; she always had to be strong, she could never just be Buffy and let another take over that was until her sweet William. The first time she called him that he was surprised to say the least and of course the threat that if she ever called him that in public soon followed.

There were times when he would even call her Elizabeth or Lizzy, something of that nature and of course she returned the same threat. Seeing Angel again was nothing like what she thought it would be; there was no pain or heartbreak just a twinge in heart that she knew would always be there.

Finally taking notice of her surroundings she realized Spike was taking them home. Though she could only guess what he wanted to do next, seeing Angel again could only have furthered his hatred for his Sire and intensified his insecurities.

“William” she called to him softly, this finally pulled him from this red haze he had found himself in from the moment he set eyes on his Sire.

He stopped abruptly and turned slowly to face her, not entirely sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. Finally meeting her eyes, she could see all the pain, insecurity and fear. The fear she saw there chilled her to the bone, Buffy couldn’t believe that after all this time he was still afraid that she’d leave him.

Taking a step closer to him she framed his face with her small hand and leaned in to kiss him softly. Her lips lingered for a moment before pulling back to look into his eyes once more.

“I’ll never leave you; I will follow you wherever you go. I am yours William” she smiled softly at him as she saw the corners of his lips turn upwards.

“Come on Baby, we gotta go” he said as he pulled her off into the night

*--------------------*

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to make out the broken rant of the brooding vampire at the other end of the phone. Everyone had been gathered at the Magic Box; waiting for the call form Angel, the AI team included.

The Hellmouth was starting to become pretty hairy without a Slayer around to scare the big beasties away. “Angel, please I beg you. Slow down and start from the beginning. I literally didn’t catch any of that”

Giles sat quietly as he listened to Angel start from the beginning and was shocked to hear the story that was told to him.  His face reflected his emotions and it just put the room’s inhabitants even more on edge.

It had been months since anyone had seen Buffy, let alone heard from her. They all blamed themselves in some way. Xander blamed himself because he completely closed Anya and himself off when his best friend needed him the most.

Willow took her share of the blame because not only did she shut her best friend out she left town. It was as if she didn’t really care. Finally Giles beat himself up the most, he believed that he should’ve known the amount of pain his Slayer was in and the Council business could have waited until a later date.

Each Scoobie took the blame in some way and they all blamed the bleached vampire whom they believed was the master mind behind it all.

“Alright, thank you Angel and please keep us updated”

Xander was first to break the tense filled silence. “So did he find them, did he dust Spike’s sorry ass…come on details, is our Slayer extraordinaire coming home”

Giles wasn’t exactly sure how to answer the boy or anyone else in the room. He took a breath about to impart the less than stellar news just as Fred interrupted.

“He didn’t find her did he?”

“Well he found her, it’s just she didn’t want to be found”

Willow scrunched her brow in confusion. “What exactly do you mean didn’t want to be found. Why on earth would Buffy wanna stay with Spike, last I checked she wasn’t in the ‘Yay! Spike parade’”

“It seems much has changed in the past few months and Buffy is no exception. She stood on the sidelines as Spike basically beat the crap out of Angel. Angel knows Spike’s strength and well he was considerably stronger than last they fought…”

“There’s something you’re not telling us” Cordelia spoke softly

“The only explanation Angel could come up with was that Spike had to feeding off of Buffy…He also said that their combined scents were integrated, they were literally part of one another. My guess would be they haven’t been apart for more than an hour or so in the past few months”

“So what exactly are you saying G-man”

“Don’t call me that Xander and what I am saying is that it’s going to be a lot harder to separate those two than we thought”

“A lot harder”


*--------------------*

Chapter 10 -- Betrayed
 

*--------------------*

After Giles shocking announcement a heavy silence settled upon the room. None truly believed that the Slayer they knew; their Buffy would willingly stay with Spike. All were too lost in their own thoughts and private worlds to notice anything or anyone else. Even the members of the AI team seemed a bit struck by the Slayer’s decision.

Xander had picked himself up and walked into the training room in the back to be alone; even Anya’s presence was un-welcomed. He just couldn’t believe it, Buffy actually wanted to stay with that blood sucking fiend.

The Zeppo absently hit the Everlast bag before trudging over to the couch off to the side and flopping down onto it. Before Buffy he really had no purpose in this world and he knew it. The day the golden haired Slayer walked into his life, was the day it gained meaning.

His parents were worthless lay about drunks and Xander wanted desperately to turn out to be nothing like them. Though school was never his strong point he was determined to make something of himself. Buffy showed him that if he really wanted something, he could get it.

‘It’s a spell; it has to be a spell. My Buffy would never willing stay with Spike. God he’s worse than Angel…No! It has to be some type of magical enchantment. SHE’S POSSESSED! That’s it she’s possessed by some evil, demony spirit…Yeah, that’s gotta be it, we’ll just figure out a way to reverse it and she’ll be home soon. Soon Buffy will be home again…where she belongs’

Those were Xander’s last thoughts before Anya came bouncing into the room and chattering on about something having to do with Buffy and Spike and how they’re probably lovers. At that moment Xander really wanted to inform his girlfriend of tact.

Willow was fairing no better; she had somehow wandered up to the balcony that overlooks the store. So it was just a sad Wicca and the restricted section of magical text. Normally to be up there and not have Giles telling her to come down immediately would’ve been a real pleasure but at the moment all the red head could do was blame herself for the current situation. 

On some level they all knew the pain that the Slayer must have been going through. Buffy had lost her mother only a few weeks before and then to loose her sister right after, it just had to have practically destroyed her. Though they were all to wrapped up in their own misery to even notice their friend’s downward spiral.

‘God, how could I have been so stupid? I just took off with Tara when my best friend needed me most and Spike…well he fooled us didn’t he? I could dust him right now! He was really starting to prove himself to me…then to move in on Buffy like that, when she was so vulnerable. Arrgghh, when if I ever see him again, he’ll be ash in the wind before he knows what hit him’

As Willow continued her internally rant about the bleached vampire down below just underneath the steps stood Giles, completely lost in thought. In his heart he believed that it was he who had failed his Slayer the most. Even though the others went their separate ways for awhile; he was her Watcher, he should’ve known that she was too fragile to leave in the care of the chipped vampire.

There was the Drusilla debacle but other than that, Spike had really begun to prove himself as a worthy member of their little unit. He still remembers the day Xander came barreling into the Magic Box inhaling rapidly to get air back into his lungs all the while informing him of Buffy’s disappearance.

After the initial panic, everyone’s first instinct was to head to Spike’s crypt. They’d all been away and she and Spike probably spent all that time with one another. So Willow, Xander and himself headed off to Spike’s while Tara and Anya stayed behind.

It was eerily quiet but they paid it no mind. The sun had just set only an hour before and it was a grave yard after all. There was no reason for Spike to be up so early or late depending on how you looked at it.

They searched the entire tomb, from top to bottom and found nothing. The only items left in the place were a ratty old chair, a shabby looking bed and a busted television. Having no luck there, they hoped to find something, anything at the old Summer’s home. So the trio headed over to 1630 Revello Drive and was greeted with the same results.


‘That day was the scariest of my life. There was nothing left; every room we searched was absolutely empty’

He remembered finally wandering into the kitchen and finding an envelope with the words WATCHER in a strong bold, almost Elizabethan script. Knowing it was not his Slayer’s hand writing, he opened the envelope with a trembling hand.

Watcher,

If you’ve found this then you know by now that the Slayer is gone. When I say gone I don’t mean dead, she wanted to leave and she wanted me to go with her.

Whether you lot believe it or not, I’m in love with her and I won’t deny her anything. Since all of you decided to take a ‘vacation’, I’m all she’s got.

Don’t bother trying to find us, because you won’t. The Slayer doesn’t even know that I left this for you. If she did, she’d probably stake me.

I did this for your piece of mind. I do know that you care for her and would worry.

Well that’s that then.

Be seeing you,

Spike

Giles pulled the folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it. He just didn’t know what to feel. Spike had been right; they just did leave her and to her own devices and Spike was the only one she could turn to.

Then there was the little voice in the back of his head that kept reminding him that Spike was nothing but a soulless monster and wasn’t to be trusted. As the Watcher continued to mull over his feelings the blonde Wicca stared out the front window of The Magic Box.

Tara didn’t really know what to feel about the situation. She’d only known Buffy for a short time and Spike even less. Though what she really didn’t understand what the big deal was. It was easy to see that Buffy was in love with the vampire. She just hoped that wherever they were that they were happy.


*--------------------*


Outside Cordelia was fuming, she couldn’t believe ‘Little Miss Save the World’ was at it again. She and Angel were on the verge of a ‘thing’ and ‘Little Miss Buffy’ just had to go and fuck it up!

‘It’s always about Buffy…Buffy, Buffy, BUFFY! I swear that girl just pisses me off sometimes. Who am I kidding; she makes me wanna rip her head off all the time! For the longest time it was Buffy and Angel this and Buffy and Angel that. Well damn it, it supposes to be Angel and Cordy now!

Cordelia was so busy complaining to herself about the Buffy/Angel saga that she never noticed the two shadowy figures begin to follow her. She was only a few blocks for the mansion, which was where the entire AI team was staying during all of this.

So by the time she realized what was happening it was too late. As the two creatures bit into opposite sides of her neck, Cordelia realized her fatal mistake. Never curse the Slayer while in her town. As she felt her life slip away with each passing second Cordelia Chase’s last thoughts were…

‘I wish I had never met Buffy Summers’

With those as the former May Queen’s last thoughts she fell to the floor with a soft thud. The two vampires stalked off into the night in search of a better meal. The fledglings learned that to feed from a fellow demon did nothing to sate their hunger. It also left a really bitter after taste.


*--------------------*


The same time across the country Whistler felt a slight tingle on the back of his neck. He sat silently in the dark waiting for The Powers message to come through. Sighing heavily he fell back on to his bed.

He knew better than to have trust Doyle to choose his successor.

‘Oh well at least I won’t have to listen to her whining anymore’

Smiling to himself the demon rolled on to his side thinking of potentials to take her place.

‘He’ll be perfect; it’s just the task of finding him’

At this he felt another slight tingle on the back of his neck and suddenly had a flash himself. His smile grew broader as he thought of what was to come.